At a Board of Health meeting Thursday dominated by what one speaker described as a rooster so powerful he's got town government paralyzed, residents urged the board to enforce its regulations prohibiting nuisance animals.

The meeting was the latest chapter in a five-and-a-half-year battle to remove roosters from a residential neighborhood because of their noise. It was continued until an unspecified date when all three board members could be present to vote on bringing court action once again against Jocelyn M. Smyth, 38 Brown Terrace, who owns the roosters.

In September, the health board filed suit in Worcester Housing Court against Ms. Smyth, but Judge Diana H. Horan dismissed the case because the board did not have its witness, complainant Joan MacKinnon of 30 Brown Terrace, there to testify.

Mrs. MacKinnon said she had not been informed she needed to attend the hearing.

The judge said the board could vote to refile and appear with a witness, according to the hearing transcript.

Four neighbors of Ms. Smyth, including Mrs. MacKinnon and her husband, filed at least 25 complaints with the health board since October 2007 about the noise from one or more roosters Ms. Smyth keeps at her home.

The board and the building inspector ordered the roosters removed on at least five occasions during 2008 through 2012, according to town records.

But the roosters keep returning — although in October 2011 Ms. Smyth said they were just visiting for the weekend, according to a health board email. Neighbors say they crow at all hours.

“This is nonstop,” said Mrs. MacKinnon in an interview before the meeting Thursday.

A letter to Ms. Smyth from Board of Health Chairman Wayne Tucker, dated Dec. 6, 2012, rebuts Ms. Smyth's claim that her roosters should be allowed because they are pets, and reminds Ms. Smyth that she is violating state law and local health regulations by keeping a “nuisance” animal.

The letter says in part: “As you know, the keeping of chickens is not allowed in Uxbridge. However, you have asserted that the roosters are pets. Conceding the fact that your roosters are pets, any pets that constitute or create a nuisance cannot be kept.”

Under state law, a board of health has the authority to investigate all nuisances that may harm public health and it can order the owner to remove the source of the nuisance within 24 hours, or within a time the board deems reasonable, at the owner's expense.

Uxbridge Board of Health regulations say: “No person shall keep or allow to be kept any number of domestic animals which shall constitute a nuisance.”

A letter of Oct. 3, 2011, from the Board of Health informed Ms. Smyth that between Aug. 12, 2011, and the date of the letter, she could be subject to fines of more than $50,000 for not complying with the order to remove the roosters.

At Thursday's board meeting, some half-a-dozen residents pleaded with the board to enforce its regulations against nuisance animals by returning to court.

Mrs. MacKinnon said: “The bottom line is, we know she has roosters. Roosters are a nuisance. ... I'm really fed up and I want it taken care of as soon as possible.”

Selectman Bruce Desilets, who visited the MacKinnon home Sunday morning and listened to two roosters crow for an hour, said, “One crows loud as all-crazy. ... It's a nuisance and it's a domestic animal and they shouldn't be in a residential area. If that was on my street, I'd be run off the street.”

Joyce Feen of 54 Brown Terrace said that, although she lives four houses away, she could clearly hear the roosters in the morning.

Mr. Tucker said he agreed that it was a Board of Health issue, but board member Peter Baghdasarian, who also serves as a selectman, was skeptical.

“I have to be convinced that the sound made by a rooster constitutes a Board of Health nuisance,” Mr. Baghdasarian said.

He also said he thought the board had an obligation to hear from Ms. Smyth again before voting to refile a lawsuit against her.

While many people keep chickens in their backyards with no problems — and Mrs. MacKinnon said she didn't object to hens — roosters present an issue with noise that many towns wrestle with.

“Some people say roosters greet the dawn. Roosters crow all day long,” said Auburn Director of Public Health Andrew R. Pelletier.

He said his town has on two occasions removed roosters under the nuisance law.

Auburn zoning regulations also dictate that no more than four pets can be kept and livestock must be on property of at least five acres.

Mr. Pelletier said that, when the town allows chickens to be kept as pets, they must be registered and treated as livestock (without acreage requirement) so the animal inspector can make sure they are being kept safely and won't be a public health risk.

Ann Sellew, Charlton's animal inspector and animal control officer, said roosters are allowed in town and the board of health gets complaints about the noise.

“When the roosters are loose, they're more apt to crow,” Ms. Sellew said. She informs owners of the complaints and tells them to keep their birds locked up in a coop.

She also tells rooster owners they could be disturbing the peace, which might draw police charges.

“It's kind of a gray area,” Ms. Sellew said.

Westboro Director of Public Health Paul McNulty said the town hasn't had any complaints about roosters, which may be kept in town, but any complaints could be dealt with under the state nuisance law.

Contact Susan Spencer at susan.spencer@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanSpencerTG.

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